A vote of no confidence in Ohio University’s top administrators and Board of Trustees will appear on the Student Senate ballot alongside candidates for 2015-16 Student Senate and Student Trustee positions.
Ohio University students will have the opportunity to say how they think OU’s top administrators performed this year through two ballot questions that will appear alongside candidates for Student Senate and the student trustee.
The addition to the ballot will ask students if they feel confident in the ability of the Board of Trustees and top administrators, specifically the president, vice president, deans and provost to represent students’ needs.
“I feel like information, in a lot of ways, is power,” Vice President of Student Senate Caitlyn McDaniel said. “We will have that vote to back us up and to say we aren’t crazy, radical students that are unhappy and angry — everyone to some extent is unhappy and angry.”
The resolution to add the vote, passed at senate’s March 11 meeting, cites college affordability, sexual assault, race relations and others among student concerns that the Board of Trustees has been “reluctant” to side with students on.
The questions “Do you have confidence in the Ohio University administration to represent your needs as a student?” and “Do you have confidence in the Ohio University Board of Trustees to represent your needs as a student?” aim to gauge student opinion following a poll distributed by Student Senate in the fall.
The poll asked about a list of demands senate passed during its Oct. 8 meeting, including a $15 minimum wage and a cap on pay for administrators making more than $200,000. The poll also offered an opportunity for students to suggest any new concerns that may not have been addressed in senate.
“I think it’s fair to allow students to assess administrators, but I think it’s really hard because a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote is very black and white, and there are a lot of gray areas,” said Gabby Bacha, a South Green senator and presidential candidate for the SOS ticket.
Bacha said that it will be the job of the newly elected senators to determine exactly what the vote of ‘no confidence’ will mean. She said an increased number of meetings with administrators or a more detailed survey are possible follow-ups.
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